Once again, however, the journalist fell into the cliché trap of calling ketamine a “party drug.” She could have just as easily referred to it as “a medication that is used in emergency departments across America on a daily basis.” Nevertheless, the articles provide a good overview of what a powerful tool it is for treating severe depression.

Ketamine, popularly known as the psychedelic club drug Special K, has been around since the early 1960s. It is a staple anesthetic in emergency rooms, regularly used for children when they come in with broken bones and dislocated shoulders. It’s an important tool in burn centers and veterinary medicine, as well as a notorious date-rape drug, known for its power to quickly numb and render someone immobile.

Since 2006, dozens of studies have reported that it can also reverse the kind of severe depression that traditional antidepressants often don’t touch. The momentum behind the drug has now reached the American Psychiatric Association, which, according to members of a ketamine task force, seems headed toward a tacit endorsement of the drug for treatment-resistant depression.

Experts are calling it the most significant advance in mental health in more than half a century. They point to studies showing ketamine not only produces a rapid and robust antidepressant effect; it also puts a quick end to suicidal thinking.

As the article states, other antidepressants and medications often used to treat severe depression can take much more time to work for patients.

In fact, some very promising research has been published that suggests that a series of 6 infusions (about two hours each) of low dose ketamine can lead to a rapid improvement of severe depressive symptoms.